An Air Busan plane is on standby at Incheon International Airport. Korea Times file

By Kim Hyun-binThe transport ministry has requested Air Busan postpone its in-flight seat sales, citing safety reasons. On Jan. 5, Air Busan started providing seats in the front rows and near emergency exits on board the plane to passengers who pay additional fees on the spot. Previously, seats with wider spaces could be purchased only via prior online bookings.Depending on the distance of the flight, the carrier introduced a 15,000 won ($13.40) additional fee for the seats on Japan and Northeast Asia routes and 25,000 won for Southeast Asia, purchased via credit card on board.However, just two days later, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recommended the airline halt its in-flight seat sales."In order for the flight attendants to sell and arrange the seats, it needs to be included in the airline's operation manual and then an approval from the transport ministry is needed for safety reasons," a ministry official said.Some raised concerns over safety during emergencies, because according to Aviation Laws, only passengers aged over 15 without disabilities and who can help out in an emergency should be seated in an exit row."We abide by the aviation law when selling emergency exit row seats, and all the transport ministry requested was to include the onboard sales in our manual. We will review the efficiency of the onboard sales and decide whether to continue the program," an Air Busan official said.Earlier in December, the carrier was under fire as its CEO Han Tae-keun allegedly reprimanded a flight attendant who refused to provide wider seats for his acquaintance on board.